GotCha Bubble Tea Columbia SC Opens in Five Points Storefront

On a Tuesday afternoon in Columbia's Five Points, a steady stream of customers moved in and out of a storefront on Santee Avenue, drawn by the promise of boba, rolled ice cream and Asian street food. The space was still finding its rhythm, midway through a soft opening, yet already busy enough that a reporter passing by could sense something had shifted on this familiar block. This was GotCha Bubble Tea Columbia SC, newly arrived in a storefront that regulars of the neighborhood would recognize instantly.

GotCha Bubble Tea and Street Food has spent the last week in a soft opening phase at 701-B Santee Ave, according to updates shared on the business's official Instagram page. The address itself carries a certain familiarity for Five Points regulars, since it formerly housed a Gong Cha location that closed in late June, with GotCha announced as its successor shortly after.

A Familiar Corner, A New Concept

Five Points, the more than century old district east of the University of South Carolina, has long served as one of Columbia's most beloved gathering places, its streets lined with restaurants, boutiques, bars and barber shops. For a storefront within that district to change hands is not unusual, but the specifics of what moves in matter to a neighborhood built around foot traffic and repeat visits. GotCha's arrival on Santee Avenue, near the Five Points Walgreens and close to Blossom Street, places it squarely within that well trodden path.

What's on the Menu

The new spot's drink menu spans milk teas, refreshers, slushies, matcha and cream coffees, giving regulars of the format a broad set of options to work through. Alongside the drinks, GotCha offers Kremo rolled ice cream, finished with a choice of toppings, sauces and candies stirred in to order.

Beyond drinks and dessert, GotCha has built out a street food menu that includes Thai chili calamari, golden garlic shrimp noodles, jalapeno poppers, wings and popcorn chicken. That combination, pairing a boba shop's drink lineup with a fuller savory menu, sets it apart from the format that previously occupied the same address.

Early Signs From the Neighborhood

During a brief visit on a Tuesday afternoon, the shop was already busy with customers, an early indication of interest even before the soft opening period had run its course. For a new business easing into a well established retail corridor, that kind of immediate foot traffic often says as much about the storefront's location as it does about the concept itself, though the two are rarely separable in a district like Five Points.

Part of a Changing Retail Corridor

GotCha's opening also reflects a broader pattern within food and beverage retail, where storefronts once occupied by a single national or regional chain are increasingly taken over by newer, independently branded concepts looking to establish themselves in proven locations. That kind of turnover carries real stakes for the businesses involved, a contrast to situations where hospitality operators face far more serious consequences, as seen recently when a Mumbai restaurant had its food licence suspended over hygiene violations. Turnover on a commercial strip like Santee Avenue is a normal part of a neighborhood's rhythm, distinct from the kind of regulatory action that shuts a business down outright.

As GotCha settles into its space on Santee Avenue, its early days will likely be defined less by any single signature dish than by whether it can hold onto the same steady foot traffic that filled the storefront during its first week. In a district shaped as much by its history as by what currently lines its sidewalks, that quiet test of staying power tends to matter more than any opening week rush.